The Threat We Face - The Dreaded AK 47

The Threat to life and property is a major downside in the everyday life of every Nigerian. The streets are unsafe at night and most households sleep with one eye open. You could be living in the highbrow neighbourhoods of Ikoyi or the Slums of Ajegunle in the city of Lagos, but you are still susceptible to the caprices of the terrors of the night. The scourge of Armed Robbery transcends the whole country. Businesses are not safe either. The onslaught on banking institutions at a time, became an everyday affair. The Nigerian Police were overwhelmed. Each time, they were subdued by the superiority of the weaponry carried by the Armed Robbers. This weapon is the dreaded AK 47.

When Mikhail Kalashnikov developed this rifle during the Second World War, he was looking for a rifle that was simple in design, compact in size but awesome in power, highly rugged and inexpensive to manufacture. The AK 47 was not built for accuracy but pure devastation, maximum devastation. What is most worrying is the easy availability of this rifle to criminal gangs in Nigeria

The aim of this write-up is not to inculcate fear or promote the efficacy of the AK 47 but to illustrate the threat posed by the easy availability of this devastating rifle so that people including security vendors and practitioners are sufficiently briefed so that when they are proposing or developing security solutions, critical thought would be given to this level of threat and the right and proper solution proposed.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE AK 47

The first Kalashnikov assault rifle was invented by Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov whilst recovering from injuries sustained during fighting in the Second World War. Its first incarnation was the AK-47, named to coincide with the year of its entry into active service (1947) . Whilst production of the original AK-47 largely ceased in the mid 1950s, modern variants continue to be produced in many parts of the world. It is estimated that there are somewhere between 50 and 70 million Kalashnikov assault Rifles spread across the world’s five continents.

The Kalashnikov remains the preferred weapon for many armed forces, rebel groups and armed gangs because of its proven reliability and widespread availability. The AK-47 in particular is robust and simple to operate, with only minimal working parts. The Rifle is produced in tens of millions around the world. During the Cold War, the former Soviet Union also supplied millions to various regimes they were supporting around the world, making them cheap and obtainable from numerous sources. The production and supply of its ammunition (7.62 x 39 mm) is equally prolific, with hundreds of millions stock piled in many countries.

The AK 47 is a semi-automatic military assault rifle. In untrained hands it could be a dangerous weapon. It can be fired in single shot mode or can be set for automatic fire by the simple operation of a lever located near the trigger mechanism. In automatic mode, the AK-47 can be fired at a rate of 600 rounds per minute as long as the trigger remains depressed, although its magazine can only store 30 rounds, which will empty in a little over 3 seconds. The weapon has a maximum range of 800 to 1,000 meters, but is only really guaranteed to be accurate when used by a trained marksman up to a range of about 400 to 600 meters. At excessive ranges (over 1,000 meters), the rifle can still cause tremendous injuries or death because of the “yawing” effect of its bullets.

In 1959, the AK-47 was upgraded by its original Russian manufacturers to the AKM model, which was lighter and cheaper to produce. In 1974 a new variant was introduced, the AK-74 which was basically a re-chambered AKM variant to take the newer 5.45 x 39 mm calibre ammunition, the Russian equivalent to the standard5.56 x 45 mm NATO standard round . The most modern family of Kalashnikov weapons is the AK-100 series. A variant of the AK47 is presently manufactured in Nigeria by The Defence Industries Corporation, the rifle is called OBJ 006

THE NIGER DELTA

The AK 47 is the most widely used assault rifle in the Niger Delta by the militants. Its availability is buoyed by resources available through illegal oil bunkering which runs into millions of dollars. The Federal Government is at a crossroad as to how to stop or reduce the inflow of illegal arms into the Niger Delta areas. The most the government has been able to do is run programs called guns for cash, where the militants trade in their guns for money. This definitely hasn’t worked, the militants seem to always have the last laugh in that they trade unserviceable rifles for cash and buy more guns with the money they collect from the government.

HUMAN COST

It is estimated that around 250,000 people are killed each year by the AK 47. In Nigeria there isn’t any available data on deaths from the AK47 but most deaths from Armed Robberies are caused by the AK47. The AK 47 is now the standard issue for the Nigeria Police Force and the Military. It has been established earlier that the predominant weapon used in the Niger Delta is the AK 47, so it is safe to attribute most deaths from the conflict to the AK 47.

PROLIFERATION

AK assault rifles are in the inventories of nearly half of the world’s armies, making them by far the world’s most prolific and used assault rifles. At least 82 countries currently list the AK 47 or its variant within their State arsenals. It is also the firearm of choice for virtually every armed group operating from every continent on the globe. Images from criminal organisations or armed groups usually depict Kalashnikov rifles. Global estimates put the production of AK rifles in the region of 50–70 million, although estimates of 100million are not uncommon.

Demand in many parts of the world for Kalashnikov assault rifles remains strong, not least because the price remains relatively low. Unlike the price of other global commodities such as Gold, Copper, Oil and Gas, the price of a Kalashnikov continues to fall in real terms, aiding its proliferation in poverty-stricken regions of the world. The price of an AK-47 derivative varies depending on sale location, quality, and quantity. A brand new Kalashnikov from a Russian factory costs around $240, depending on the derivative and size of the purchase. In Africa an AK-47 can be bought for around $30 in areas where supplies are saturated. Thousands of Jordanian Kalashnikovs bought by the US for the new Iraqi security forces retailed at approximately $60 each. Stockpiled Balkan AK-47 variants cost US and European buyers between $50 and $100 per rifle

CONCLUSION

The easy availability of the AK 47 to criminal gangs in Nigeria poses a very serious threat to the corporate existence of the country. Night life is nearly zero and staying indoors doesn’t fair better. You just never know when the marauders will come calling. I was recently attacked by Armed Robbers in a well guarded gated development in Parkview Estate in Ikoyi Lagos. The armed gang easily overwhelmed the unarmed security guards. They just appeared from nowhere and came to the sitting room where we were watching TV. The AK 47 they carried sure looked menacing. You can imagine the trauma, the invasion of your own home. The other incident was when they came calling at a hotel I put up in around Ikeja. That was also a harrowing experience. The robbers were armed to the teeth with AK 47’s and they sure had a field day. As a matter of fact most major hotels in Lagos have been hit including Eko Le’ Meridian and the very prestigious Sofitel Moorhouse in Ikoyi. At Eko Meridian the Armed Robbers spent over 2 hours moving from room to room. In all cases the police were helpless because of the superiority of the arms the Armed Robbers were carrying. The issue of the ineptitude of the police will be another topic that I will write about in a later blog. The economic structures haven’t been spared either. The Banks have faced the full brunt. No Nigeria Bank has escaped this onslaught. The Banks have had to expend millions in fortifying their vaults and branches. The AK 47 is truly a menace that welds devastating and catastrophic consequences. Its power is so awesome that 50 years later it is still treated with a lot of awe.

The Dreaded Machine: Explicit Demonstration of The AK 47 Against The M 16

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Inventor, Lieutenant General Mikhail Kalashnikov.
The AK-47, Control Arms Campaign, June 2006
Jane’s Defence Weekly, 15 June 2006
Amnesty International, the International Action Network on Small Arms
Oliver Sprague (Oxfam GB)
Hugh Griffiths (independent research consultant)
Brian Wood (Amnesty International).